March 21, 1995
Honorable Paul Sadler
Chair
Committee on Public Education
Texas House of Representatives
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78768-2910
Letter Opinion No. 95-017
Re: Whether a municipality is
responsible for preparing an accurate map
of municipal boundaries after the
municipality has annexed territory (ID#
25341)
Dear Representative Sadler:
Your predecessor in office, Representative Linebarger, requested us to determine
which party, a municipality or the landowner of a particular piece of real property, is
responsible, after the municipality has annexed territory, for preparing an accurate map
of the city boundaries as they cross that piece of property. We conclude that the
municipality is responsible for preparing such a map.
Section 41.001 of the Local Government Code resolves the question. It provides
as follows:
(a) Each municipality shall prepare a map that shows the
boundaries of the municipality. A copy of the map shall be kept in
the office of the secretary or clerk of the municipality. If the
municipality has a municipal engineer, a copy of the map shall also
be kept in the office of the engineer.
(b) If the municipality annexes territory, the map shall be
immediately corrected to include the annexed territory. The map
shall be annotated to indicate:
(1) the date of annexation;
(2) the number of the annexation ordinance, if any; and
(3) a reference to the minutes or municipal ordinance
records in which the ordinance is recorded in full.
On its face, section 41.001 places on a municipality the burden for preparing a map
indicating the boundaries of the municipality. A municipality also is responsible for
immediately correcting the map of its boundaries if the municipality annexes territory.
Cf. Letter Opinion No. 94-33 (1994) at 2 (concluding that municipality may choose
method by which it will ascertain boundaries of its extraterritorial jurisdiction).
Your predecessor suggested that a municipality's boundaries must be marked by
the placement of markers on the ground. We are unaware of any statute, nor did she cite
any provision, that requires a municipality to place markers on the ground to mark its
boundaries.
S U M M A R Y
Section 41.001(a) of the Local Government Code requires a
municipality to prepare a map indicating the boundaries of the
municipality. If a municipality annexes territory, section 41.001(b)
requires the municipality immediately to correct the map to include
the annexed territory.
Yours very truly,
Kymberly K. Oltrogge
Assistant Attorney General
Opinion Committee
Incidentally, we note that section 212.004(a) of the Local Government Code requires “[t]he
owner of a tract of land located within the limits or in the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality
who divides the tract in two or more parts to lay out a subdivision of the tract” to have prepared a plot of
the subdivision. But see Local Gov’t Code §§ 212.0045 (providing that municipality may decide not to
require platting for every division of land or, if municipality falls within Local Gov’t Code ch. 212,
subch. B may require filing of development plat in lieu of subdivision plat), .0046 (excepting from plat
requirement certain property abutting aircraft runway). The owner must file and record, in accordance
with section 12.002 of the Government Code, the subdivision plat with the county clerk of the county in
which the tract is located. Id. § 212.004(d), (e).
(footnote continued)
Honorable Paul Sadler - Page 2